Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, has tripled down on a controversial remark he made on Twitter last Friday. Welch tweeted that the Obama Administration manipulated the highly-watched monthly jobs report after President Obama's poor debate performance in Denver.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the unemployment rate in September fell to 7.8% in September from 8.1% in August. Five minutes after the BLS release, Welch tweeted: "Unbelievable jobs numbersthese Chicago guys will do anything...can't debate so change numbers."

But a new report by finance professors at Emory and Duke University raises questions about the quality of earnings in general.

In an anonymous survey of CFOs last year, the study found that at least 20% of companies are "managing" earnings and using aggressive accounting methods to legally alter the outcome of their earnings reports.

Fast food burger joint Wendy's rules the drive-thru. The world's third-largest quick service hamburger joint completes drive-thru orders in 129.75 seconds on average, nearly 40 seconds less than the national average and 20 seconds quicker than its closest competitor. This year Wendy's was able to shave 16 seconds off its 2011 time but the company has yet to match its industry record of 116.2 seconds that was recorded in 2003.

If you feel like too much, Stephen Stokols may have the answers. He has founded a start-up that aims to lower those painfully high cellphone bills by providing a free alternative to pricey mobile data plans.

According to a new report in The Washington Post, the median net worth of the current Congress rose 5% during the recession while it fell 39% for the average American. The wealthiest one-third of lawmakers saw their net worth rise 14%.

The Washington Post disclosed these statistics in a recent story on the wealth gap between Congressional members and the American public.

"These are supposed to be our representatives," says The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task. "If they're not living the same lives or understanding the lives that the average American is living, how can they really represent our interests?"

Lawmakers are warning U.S. companies not to do business with two of the world's largest telecommunications equipment makers. The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee released a report Monday after an 11-month investigation about the business practices of Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, Chinese firms that develop and sell telecom communications equipment like routers, handsets and switches. The report recommends that Huawei and ZTE be excluded from expanding their businesses in the U.S. because of cyber espionage risk and connections to the Chinese government.

If you've been waiting for Apple iPhone 5 devices to become available, you may have to wait a while longer.

In the latest reminder of the harsh working conditions endured by those who make the gadgets the world loves, 3,000-4,000 workers at a plant run by Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn went on strike last week, according to China Labor Watch. Foxconn denied the report, saying that there had merely been two isolated "disputes" and that iPhone production had not been stopped.

China's economic juggernaut has been hobbled by Europe's recession and America's sluggish recovery. Export orders declined at the fastest pace in 42 months in September, manufacturing contracted for an 11th straight month and China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to its lowest level in nearly two years.

Combined with the long-term underperformance of the Shanghai Composite, such lackluster data is giving rise to concern about a "hard landing" in China. Longtime China bears such as hedge fund manager Jim Chanos and Forbes' columnist Gordon Chang have become more vocal lately or at least have been given more of a hearing.

With less than five weeks to go before the presidential election, Friday's September jobs report has become much more than a key barometer on the overall economy.

Just minutes after the Labor Department reported the lowest unemployment rate since January 2009, former GE CEO Jack Welch weighed in on twitter. "Unbelievable jobs numbersthese Chicago guys will do anything...can't debate so change numbers." (Note: the ellipses are his.)

And the political debate over the jobs report begins with just one more to go before the presidential election.

Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this week that the social networking site he co-founded in February 2004 reached 1 billion users in September, more than double its user base in 2010 and a 400% increase in users in just six years. Zuckerberg broke the news on NBC's "Today" show and thanked Facebook users in an online letter:

"This morning, there are more than one billion people using Facebook actively each month.

If you're reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you.

Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life.

I am committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you, and hopefully together one day we will be able to connect the rest of the world too."

About The Daily Ticker Blog

The Daily Ticker covers the most important business stories of the day -- the economy, investing, corporate leadership and politics. The Daily Ticker picks up where Tech Ticker left off and is hosted by Aaron Task and Henry Blodget. Often serious, sometimes irreverent and always interesting, The Daily Ticker gives viewers a unique take on the business world's most crucial stories.